So Forever 21 has a new maternity line, Love 21 Maternity, set to arrive in select stores. Maternity clothes don’t usually generate much buzz beyond the mommy set but since Forever 21’s target demographic is young women and teens, the initial reaction from many is shock and judgment. Not to mention the fact that 3 out of the 5 select locations chosen for Love 21’s debut (Arizona, California, and Texas) happen to overlap with the states with the highest percentages of teen pregnancy according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

I heard about this weeks ago and at first I was suspicious. Why would Forever 21 do this? Isn’t something wrong here? After some time to think about it I calmed down a lot and was just starting to forget about the whole thing when I saw this post on the F-Bomb where the author, Julie Z., airs her beef with the “normalization of teen pregnancy.”

All I’m saying is that teen pregnancy is not NORMAL nor should it be. Teen pregnancy has happened, does happen and always will happen, but that does not mean we should give up advocating for comprehensive birth control, and generally advocating for women to want more for themselves than to become mothers while they’re still children themselves. When the shows we watch and now the stores we shop in start normalizing this image, however – then we have a problem. I’m proposing an alternative: let’s all get together and NORMALIZE BIRTH CONTROL/SAFE SEX!

I see where she was trying to go with the piece but like always I have to bring what I think is a bit of common sense and reason to bear.

Maternity clothes are expensive. Ask anyone who has been pregnant. Motherhood, DueMaternity, and A Pea in the Pod are prominent mall fixtures that offer maternity wear if you’ve got the cash to spare. Many of my adult mommy friends have expressed their frustration with those stores at a time when their money has to buy car seats, strollers, diapers and everything else the new arrival will need. It’s not surprising expecting women often accept hand me downs to save cash. Forever 21 carries the fashions young women want with many pieces under $20 and the maternity line is no different. Forget about “targeting teen moms,” how about providing a low-cost option for women who are already cash-strapped? Kudos to other mainstream stores with affordable maternity lines such as The Gap, Old Navy, and Target for example.

Julie Z. says we should normalize birth control and safe sex. You all know I totally agree with that, as I am a proponent of comprehensive, evidence-based sex education. However, advocating for birth control does not mean you cannot also be an advocate for teen moms. I won’t argue that a pregnant 15 year old should have made some different decisions before having sex, but once that young woman is pregnant and decides to carry the pregnancy to term, she shouldn’t be treated as less-than or some kind of second class citizen. At the very least she’s going to need something to wear! Really though, who are you helping by shaming teen moms? No one.

I’m going to go ahead and say that teen pregnancy IS normal. It’s normal because as Julie Z. said herself, teen pregnancy happens and it’s been happening since forever. It’s normal because you’re not a freak or weird for getting pregnant. I mean, it certainly isn’t ABNORMAL, just socially unacceptable which are two different constructs. Besides, if Forever 21 should refrain from capitalizing on the abnormal phenomenon of teen pregnancy, we may as well say they should scrap their plus size line, Faith 21. You won’t find a shortage of people who consider being a size 18 abnormal and unhealthy to boot. Turn the page and there are just as many people shouting the opposite.

Forever 21 is a clothing retailer who is filling gaps in the fashion industry by providing cheap, trendy fashion for oft-ignored segments of society. It’s a smart business decision, if we’re being honest. It should be noted, however, that this probably goes beyond a mere business opportunity for Forever 21 owners, Don and Jin Sook Chang, who often attend 5:30 a.m. prayer services and have given millions to their church according to the LA Times. As devout Christians, the Changs might have an interest in making it okay for women to keep their babies. The Christian Reformed Church to which the Changs belong and donate has a pretty strict position on abortion, which is not surprising. Still, as a pro-choice woman, I respect and make room for a woman’s option to keep her baby without shame if that is in fact her own choice. I don’t’ see Forever 21 coercing anyone into giving up their choice merely by providing maternity wear in a junior cut, so they can promote their religious message however they see fit I guess.

I could see the outrage being better justified if Love21 was just a maternity version of some of Forever 21’s more trendier pieces – short skirts, cropped tops, sheer blouses, and body-hugging dresses – but it’s not. From the looks of it, you can’t really discern the styles from anything you’d see at Target or the Gap – leggings, peasant tops, and swing-hem cardigans.

What do you think? Is this corporate irresponsibility on Forever 21’s part? Should they be in the business of promoting safe sex as well as sequined clutches? Should young moms wear whatever they can find amongst other maternity lines?

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